The rumors are true: working retail is no joke.
Retail employees are overworked (9 and 10-hour days are common), and they are underpaid for their work. Whether it’s clothing, technology, home goods or toys, retail workers are way underappreciated, as they are responsible for more than you would think (or could probably handle). Between the long hours, endless recovery tasks, near-impossible selling goals and demanding customers, sales associates are unbelievably taken for granted. So why do it?
If you were like me, you thought: “I can handle recovery, and I can meet a sales goal. And customers can’t be that bad, right?” WRONG. The recovery and sales goals might be a piece of cake, but the customers really can be that bad, in fact, they might be even worse.
But, after weeks of hating your job and contemplating putting in your two-weeks, something changes. You begin to love your job. Something about retail begins to feel so satisfying that you can’t imagine ever working anywhere else. Your feet are still killing you at the end of the night, and customers continue to get under your skin, but learning how to navigate your store, how to speed through register functions and field negative customers becomes so incredibly satisfying.
Every day is a lesson, and here is what I’ve learned:
1. How to have thick skin
When working retail, YOU are the enemy. You are the reason that a customer couldn’t use her coupon. You personally created the store’s return policy. In my experience, a customer once told me that I was disgusting and that my voice disturbed her. Why? She couldn’t get cash-back on a return that she purchased with a credit card. After a while, you start feeling confident in your own abilities and realizing that you are always doing your best, no matter what a customer may say to you. Not everyone is going to leave your store happy, even if you want them to. You learn that sometimes a customer is just having a bad day, and that’s why she yelled at you; it wasn’t anything that you did. Learning how to let negativity roll off your shoulders and how to maintain a positive attitude doesn’t only improve your job performance. You have developed thick skin for life.
2. How to get a workout
You don’t always have to go to the gym to get a good workout. Running from one end of the store to the next, lifting heavy merchandise from the stock room and constantly going back-and-forth from your register to do a price-check is enough to tire anyone out. At the end of your shift, your sore and swollen feet are enough to prove that. If you work in retail, you know not to ever wear thick sweaters or heavy layers because you are sure to break a sweat. You might even keep an extra stick of deodorant in your employee locker. All of these speed, strength and energy requirements speak to a normal day in the world of retail. Don’t even get us started on Black Friday…
3. How to communicate
Retail opens the door to experiences will numerous cultures, languages and customs that you might not have been used to beforehand.You learn how to help shop for a customer’s Hannukah party, when you were typically used to Christmas. You develop a strategy for communicating with customers who speak limited English. With experience, you learn that saying “Happy Holidays” to shoppers is more appropriate than “Happy Thanksgiving” or “Merry Christmas.” Even more useful is your ability to speak (effectively) with all different age groups. You tailor the way that you speak to an elderly shopper versus a young mother. Your tone slightly changes with females than it sounds with male customers. This confidence in your communication will come in handy with future interviews, new careers or other part-time jobs and relationships of all kinds.
4. How to bargain shop
Possibly the best perk to being a retail employee: the employee discount. Whether it’s an additional 20% off of your purchases, special employee appreciation sales or unlimited access to store coupons, you have learned how to maximize the system. Bargain shopping becomes second nature to you, and you learn how to make the most of every dollar. After scoping out that new dress, pair of shoes or eyeshadow pallet, you search the sales. You know just when the sale price will be at its lowest, and then you start stacking your discounts. You know which coupons can and cannot be combined with each other, you know all of the items’ discount exclusions and you know how to factor in your additional employee discount percentage. You probably even have left over gift cards or store credit to bring the price down even lower. Saving money turns into a hobby, and before you know it, “your store” is the only store you’ll shop at. Working retail creates a lifelong shopper out of you.
5. How to say “no”
Sometimes, the customer isn’t always right. Working retail, you run into situations where a customer changes a sales sign, demands a discount on an ineligible item or asks you if you have any coupons you can scan for them. In most situations, we know that it is always better to make the customer happy, even if that means the store loses a few dollars in sales. However, you also learn how to make judgement calls. You know when a customer is lying about a sale price, being rude to get what he or she wants or is purposely trying to bend the rules. After a while, you know when enough is enough and that it is okay to say “no.” No, you can’t open the box to see what is inside. No, you cannot use your coupon on that. No, you will not speak to me that way. Retail teaches you to stand your ground and feel comfortable giving a less-favorable answer with confidence. Not only do you learn to say “no” to customers, but to authority figures too. You learn how to effectively communicate with your managers and let them know when you might feel uncomfortable with something that was asked of you. They might not like that you said “no” to working a double on a Saturday, but you know that you have to study, so you choose to do what is best.